Legal Expert Questions EOCO’s Conduct, Says MP Had Right to Resist Unlawful Arrest Attempt

A lecturer at the University of Ghana Law School, Professor Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, has described the attempted arrest of the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) as an attempted kidnapping.

Prof. Appiagyei-Atua said the circumstances surrounding the incident were concerning, particularly because, in his view, the officer involved allegedly failed to properly identify herself before attempting to arrest the legislator.

He expressed concern that incidents involving the use of law enforcement powers in questionable circumstances appeared to be becoming increasingly common, warning that such developments could have implications for the rule of law and citizens' rights.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, September 26, Prof. Appiagyei-Atua argued that Baffour Awuah had the right to resist the attempted arrest based on the circumstances captured in the video of the incident.

Prof Appiagyei-Atua said the legality of an arrest without a warrant depends on specific circumstances recognised by law, and he questioned whether any of those circumstances were present when the attempt was made to arrest the MP.

“The person [arresting officer] was not identified as working for EOCO. She was asked to identify herself and she didn’t do that. The Member of Parliament was not committing an offence at the time and the EOCO person sought to arrest him without a warrant. These are some of the exceptions to arresting without a warrant: that the person is in the process of committing an offence, and another is that the person has escaped lawful custody; these are some exceptions.

“Clearly, none of them was evident in the video that we saw so it was as if the process was continuing to kidnap people, because if you cannot identify yourself and you arrest people in that Rambo-style manner, it constitutes kidnapping. And therefore, the person who is being arrested has a right to resist the arrest, the law allows that.”

— CitiNewsRoom